Narration Creation: Audio Theater

Narrators bring the stories we love to life. But what does it take to prepare and record an audiobook? I asked a group of narrators four questions about the audiobook process. This series is based off of the Blogger Confidential series.

Audio is theater without the visual. What techniques do you use to engage the listener and ensure you keep their attention?

"I’m a singer, and I find that the same techniques I use to bring a song to life and engage the audience also apply to audiobooks: phrasing, tempo, intensity, vocal color, and the intangible sense of inviting the listener into a private world.

With Zoe Marriott’s YA book “Shadows on the Moon,” the first chapter has a haunting, dreamlike quality as the protagonist witnesses the destruction of everyone she loves. It’s told in the first person, and the situation is incomprehensible to the main character. So I made it a little soft and breathless, with the stretched-out intensity of a ballad - like she’s floating along observing this terrible scene but not experiencing it. Later, as she becomes a more active part of her own story, I increased the intensity, tightened the pacing, and made her vocal quality more focused." Amy Rubinate, narrator of Shadows on the Moon; The Selection

"I try to be as engaged in the story as possible, myself. To know where the story is going so I can take the reader along me. In life, I am a bit of a fast talker, so I try to slow things down so the listener can follow but also not be so slow that the listener gets impatient. I read a lot of books written in the first person, so I try to sound like a real person telling their story to the listener." Amanda Ronconi, narrator of How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf; the Soul Screamers series

"I had a wonderful audiobook director and teacher, Paul Ruben, advise me to remember to speak the text as if it is all happening for the first time. I’ve found this to be very good advice for both audiobook narration and theater. I visualize what’s happening in the story while I’m narrating. This keeps me engaged in the story and if I’m engaged, then the listener will be too. There are also vocal techniques I use, such as varying intensity and pace. Audiobook narration is a very intimate medium. I try to tell the story as if I am whispering it right into the listener’s ear." Caitlin Davies, narrator of Awakened: A House of Night Novel; Little Vampire Women

"I try to be in the moment, every moment. If I'm really in the world of the story, chances are that the listener will be, too. That's not so much a technique as a process, so I suppose the technique I most often use is tonal variation; there are many opportunities to shift the voice and delivery as the action, mood, and topics change." Carol Monda, narrator of The Demon King; The Exiled Queen

"I think that as an actress I just do my best to inhabit the story and stay out of my head. I find that performing an audiobook shares some similarities with acting in other mediums - so a lot of the same rules apply: be honest, honor the material, stay present, suspend any judgment toward characters, and of course, speak clearly! :)" Kate Rudd, narrator of The Fault in Our Stars; Tithe

"I love audiobooks for this very reason, because you have to connect in a way that either stimulates the listener by the emotion and immediacy in your voice and or with the energy that empowers them to SEE the world of the books for themselves. I employ this sense of immediacy as if my characters - and even an omnipotent third person narrator is carving out the words as she simultaneously creates her reality. Instead of the words being an act of retelling they are an act of inaugurating the story's existence. Like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time and relaying it to someone over a live line long distance, discovering something neither one of you has seen before.

I also choose, sometimes intellectually, sometimes through my intuition, where to slow down, like taking a slow curve on scenic California Highway 1, to let the reader / listener really articulate what we're seeing together. Sometimes the emotional life is a wash, is a general energy they need to instinctually comprehend, and sometimes it's a process of crystallizing a very intricate image in their imaginations. If it is happening for me and to me in the moment, I can keep the listener present. I also enjoy playing with how language sounds and its rhythms, so it is more like a poetic music than a series of autopilot facts. If you need to work somewhat in a creative way to listen, the story is awake, and you can't tune it out. It's life. Crackling in sound waves." Jessica Almasy; narrator of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Unraveled

"Great question… I guess the only answer is … I enjoy the book.

The listener and I are kinda in it together. Even though I read the book before heading into the studio, and I’ve done my character and pronunciation research, by the time I get to the mic it’s almost like starting the book all over. When I’m prepping it’s all about the who, the where, and the words. Once I get in the booth, its about the story. And I’m finally able to sit back and enjoy the ride. I actually visualize the story in my mind as I’m reading. Seeing what I’m saying. It’s like watching a movie in my head. " Khristine Hvam, narrator of Daughter of Smoke and Bone; Iron Fey series

"That is a great way of describing it! I have also described it to people as being a type of theater, like a "one person" show where you are playing every character from all points of view. Every book and story is so different, so it requires a somewhat different approach as a narrator. Some genres and stories need accents and dramatic shifts of energy to keep them engaging and some just need a very truthful and emotional approach. I have truly enjoyed narrating so many different genres, from capturing a kids spirit and imagination to the very adult and dark sides of life." Ilyana Kadushin; narrator of the Twilight Saga; Glow

"This is a unique challenge because most people are much more in tune with visual story telling. And yet the earliest form of entertainment was the spoken word. So in that sense, audiobooks are an incredibly  pure and primal form of storytelling. I think one of the keys to opening up the world of a book for a listener is by having clear mental images of whats on the page. Tell the story. Often times that means getting out of the way and letting the authors words do the work." Luke Daniels, narrator of This Dark Endeavor; Unwind

"Before I record any audiobook I read it thoroughly.  I highlight my characters in different colors, mark any words I need to look up, mark any accents or directions I need to be aware if in the text i.e. "she whispered, he shouted, she screamed."  So when I am in the studio my book is all marked up and I am ready to rock and roll and bring it to life. Sometimes I do speak with the author and get an idea of how they want certain words or places pronounced and any accents they may want for characters.  I find that to be very helpful." Therese Plummer, narrator of the Firelight series; The Immortal Rules

"When I am working on children's and young adult titles, I try to think about kids sitting in a car on a road trip listening to the audiobook. This helps me read it in a way that will keep them engaged and will, hopefully, also entertain their parents! For adult titles, I just try to stay as present as possible and really focus on characters and keeping them as distinct as possible." Tara Sands, narrator of The Dead-Tossed Waves; Revived

"Emotion. When I am performing a book, I am trying to feel what the characters are feeling. Energy from beginning to end is a must. The various tones, cadences, and idiosyncrasies of each character are carried entirely through the voice, and that energy and emotion is my way of making sure the listener can connect with the characters and feel what they are feeling. It puts them right into the story." Nick Podehl, narrator of the Chaos Walking trilogy, Shelter





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